Newcastle United lock horns with Liverpool on Wednesday and will be without Callum Wilson as he’s still out with a hamstring injury, so Eddie Howe is likely to start Chris Wood for the second consecutive Premier League game.
Wilson picked up the knock in Newcastle’s 3-3 draw with Manchester Cityv and missed the 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wood started in his place and may have to be called on again as Howe’s injury update didn’t suggest Wilson was close to returning. Alexander Isak’s paperwork has yet to be completed either.
Howe said in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference: “We have a few injuries at the moment – that’s obvious. I don’t think any of them are long-term apart from Emil Krafth. We’re hopeful we can get the main body of the squad back fit pretty quickly. Certainly for this game, I think we’re slightly stretched.”
Wood has made five appearances in all competitions this season, scoring one goal, but he’s yet to find the back of the net in the league. His last goal in the top-flight came in April’s 1-0 win over Wolves, so it’s a three-month drought Wood is enduring.
Whether he’ll break that duck against Liverpool remains to be seen, however, as the 30-year-old didn’t look too threatening on the weekend – Wood gave away more fouls than he had shots on target and he made just eight passes all game.
Howe doesn’t have Allan Saint-Maximin while new-boy Alexander Isak is a doubt, so Newcastle are really blunted in attack ahead of a difficult fixture.
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